On a bookshelf in Marketta’s living room, there’s all the things you’d expect to see. Framed baby photos of her daughters. A prayer devotional opened to today’s date. Pictures of family members from high school graduations, weddings, baptisms.

And in the place of honor, right in the center of the shelf? A photo of Marketta, grinning ear to ear, embraced by two of the people who helped change her life forever: her Bridge mentors, Renee and Sue.

Sonia has one of the biggest smiles and biggest hearts you can imagine. A natural caregiver, she has a gift for taking care of loved ones around her—and for two decades, she did just that as a stay-at-home mom.

Unfortunately, for Sonia, it wasn’t often a happy home, because she lived under the thumb of an abusive, controlling husband. He wouldn’t allow her to take classes to improve her English or to finish high school. She didn’t have a dime to her own name. And, for the duration of the marriage, she was not permitted to even know about the family’s finances or have a say in how the household was run.